According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 715,000 people living in the United States experience a heart attack each year.

During American Heart Month, our team at AFC Urgent Care Hixson wants you to know the warning signs to look for when it comes to heart attack, as well as ways you can reduce your risk of suffering a heart attack in the future.

What Is a Heart Attack?

A heart attack, which is also known as a myocardial infarction, occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked.

While you might think of heart attack as always being associated with chest pain, many people don’t experience chest pain at all. Heart attacks also have many other symptoms, particularly for women.

Symptoms of a Heart Attack

• Abnormal heartbeat
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Tightness or pain in the chest, neck, back or arms
• Vomiting

Can a Heart Attack Be Prevented?

There are some risk factors that cannot be changed, such as age and family history. However, there are many risk factors that can be controlled through healthy lifestyle habits.

Therefore, it’s important to do what you can to protect your heart health.

Ways to Protect Your Heart

• Don’t smoke.
• Eat a heart-healthy diet, including fruits and vegetables.
• Limit the consumption of sodium and sugar.
• Exercise regularly.
• Manage stress.
• Control medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

One important step in maintaining good heart health? Monitoring your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Stop by AFC Urgent Care Hixson for a checkup today!